History of St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Osseo, Minnesota
St. Paul's Lutheran Church began in 1865 as The Evangelical Church of Osseo with 12 members gathered by St. John’s Lutheran, Corcoran, MN as a sister congregation. It's Constitution was adopted in 1867. In 1890 St. Paul’s became a member of The Synod of Missouri, Ohio and Other States, now known as The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. The founding Pastors conducted the initial services in the homes of its members. They built a small frame church, replaced by another frame church when the congregation outgrew these buildings. In 1915 they built a brick and stucco church at the corner of E. Broadway and First Ave. NE, in Osseo. In 1919 they built the first parsonage just east of the church. The church continued to grow through the service of a number of Pastors.
The members built the stone church and brick parsonage at the corner of E. Broadway and 7th Ave. SE. at an approximate cost of $325,000. The groundbreaking service for the present structure was April 6, 1958 and on February 1, 1959, this church was dedicated. The church seats approximately 450 and is located on 12 acres of land. The site was originally part of Brooklyn Park. However, in July, 1960, the church grounds were part of an 88 acre parcel of land annexed to the City of Osseo. The parsonage was converted to Sunday School classrooms in the 1980's. On February 1, 2009, 450 worshippers rededicated the present sanctuary. The members celebrated 150 years of ministry in 2018.
A thriving Sunday School began in 1927. The congregation operated a Christian Day School from 1936 to 1940. In 1936, St. Paul's began a mission congregation in Anoka. In 1949 Mt. Olive Lutheran Church, Anoka, dedicated to God its own house of worship. Our congregation has been served by a variety of long pastorates.
Celebrating 150 Years
Pastors of St. Paul's
2015-present Daniel R. Burns
2013-2015 R. Thomas Colgrove*
1989-2013 Gregory Tyler
1975-1988 Stanton R. Hecksel
1968-1975 Arnold H. Bertam
1956-1968 W. C. Lohrke
1936-1956 Arnold Schulz
1927-1936 A. H. Ziegler
1919-1927 A. H. Kuntz
1889-1919 Johaness Fackler
1885-1889 A. L. Schmidt
1885-1885 I. O. Zwicker
1883-1885 C. Mack
1882-1883 G. A. Gohnstangel
1881-1882 Henshel
1878-1881 H. Fleer
1876-1978 L. H. Buehrig
1865-1876 V. W. Rehkopf, F. Buesher, J. Jahn and A. Calermer
*Vacancy Pastor